


'Til Death Do Us Part

by violetstorm



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Life or Death Situations, M/M, Messy Kisses, Non-Graphic Violence, Survivor Guilt, im back with more sadnis yall :)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 09:56:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20598872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetstorm/pseuds/violetstorm
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple hunt, but things ain't ever easy when there's daemons involved.





	'Til Death Do Us Part

**Author's Note:**

> heed the tags.
> 
> Would you believe I came up with this fic while reading a _very_ fluffy Promptis marriage fic?

_ “Gladio,” Ignis had said, dead-serious, the night before their roadtrip. They were in the Amicitia’s Manor, crammed in Gladio’s bed. Moonlight streamed through an open window, illuminating Ignis’ features in a silver, ethereal glow. “If a situation ever arises in which both Noct and I are in danger—” _

_ “Noct will always be my first priority, Iggy,” Gladio said. “You ain’t gotta remind me. But that doesn’t mean I won’t risk everything to protect you, too.” _

They’ve had that conversation so many times. And each time, Gladio had the same answer. He’s not fool enough to believe that they’ll ever be truly safe now that Insomnia’s gone, but the thought of losing Ignis seems only like a nightmare, a thought that would never be real.

They’ve had that conversation so many times, and Gladio assumed he’d be prepared for when such a situation would actually happen.

Then it happens.

It’s during a hunt in Duscae when everything goes wrong. The daemons they were sent to kill weren’t alone and once the battle started, the waves of daemons coming didn’t stop. Not when Gladio uses their last elixir on Noct, not when Prompto runs out of flares, not when they’re all bloodied and beaten and bruised, not when Ignis calls for a retreat.

In a last-ditch effort to clear a group of daemons, Noct shouts, _ “Get away!” _and throws a thundaga flask in the air— but one of the daemons leaps to intercept it mid-air. Gladio knows what’s going to happen, and he calls Noct's name as he runs towards him, even if he's too far away to do anything, unlike Ignis, who meets Gladio’s eyes for a split-second before he dives in front of Noct.

The flask hits the daemon and explodes, sending a shockwave through the battlefield. There’s a flash of white light and Ignis and Noct are both blasted far. Ignis’ body hits a stone with a sickening _ crunch _and he tumbles to the ground, motionless. What Gladio can see of Noct’s skin is painted red and he prays that the blood underneath his body belongs to a daemon.

_ “Prompto!” _Gladio yells, instinct taking over as he drops his greatsword to charge towards his liege. “Cover me!” His response is a round of gunfire and the howl of dying daemons. The spell worked—it killed most of the daemons and Gladio trusts Prompto to hold off the rest, but he can hear more coming in the distance, no doubt summoned by the noise.

He reaches Noct first. He’s laying on his back, out-cold, but he has a pulse. It’s faint, but it’s there and Gladio uses the last curative they have, a hi-potion, over Noct without hesitation.

“Noct?” Gladio gently shakes him. “Hey, wake up.”

He doesn’t wake up.

Then he hears Ignis’ voice off to his side, weak and hoarse. “Noct?” Ignis says. Gladio turns to see him, a bloodied and beaten mess, pathetically dragging himself towards Noct. He’s lost his glasses and his hair is muddy and sticking in all directions, clothes torn. “Gladio, is he okay? Please, tell me he’s— he’s fine.”

Gladio spares a quick glance upward—enough to let him know that Prompto’s still holding back the daemons, using the last of his strength to buy them time—before rushing over to Ignis’ side, placing a hand on his back. “He’s alright, Iggy, just unconscious,” he says, and his gaze travels downwards to Ignis’ legs.

The sight that greets him is grim.

“_Fuck!” _Gladio hisses. Ignis’ right leg is bent in the wrong direction and Gladio knows that nothing short of an elixir will do anything for him—and they used their last one ages ago. Ignis won’t be walking on that leg anytime soon. “Iggy, your—”

“I know,” Ignis says. His voice is strained and every breath comes out as a rattle. It’s only Ignis’ sheer force of will that keeps him from going unconscious. “I—I can’t stand. The pain, it’s… I can’t move.” He shakes his head and Gladio knows what’s coming. “Gladio, you need to take Noct and _ go.” _

Hearing it aloud doesn’t make it any better.

“Iggy, I… no, no, there has to be some way. Prompto—”

“—Is busy fending off what daemons remain. Who will cover you while you carry Noct? He won’t be waking anytime soon, and you cannot carry the both of us.”

“I _ can, _ Iggy,” Gladio pleads, even if he knows that his arms are too bruised to bear their weight, even if he knows that he barely has the energy to hold his greatsword upright, even if he knows that what Iggy’s saying is right and he is completely _ wrong. _“There has to be some way.”

Ignis’ eyes are shining when he says, “Please, Gladio. We don’t have a choice.”

“But—”

“I can… cause enough of a ruckus to draw the daemons to me. That should allow you three to get to the Regalia in time.”

“Iggy—”

“Lestallum is not far. With the Regalia’s new headlights, you should be able to get there without any difficulty.”

“_Ignis!” _ Gladio says, shutting him up. He can’t do this. He _ can’t. _ He can’t sit here and listen to Ignis speaking about giving away his own life so calmly, with such a practiced, clinical tone, as if beating devoured by a horde of daemons was no more annoying than listening to a fly stuck inside a room. “Shut up! Don’t— you can’t. You _ can’t.” _

“We don’t have a choice, Gladio!” Ignis repeats. “You are sworn to Noctis. We all are! We all swore an oath to protect him, even if it meant giving up our lives. Gladio, we swore to never let our relationship get between our duty to Noct.”

Gladio grits his teeth. “I _ know.” _He knows, all too well. It was what once kept them from getting together in the first place. It was something they had to remind themselves of every day. It was a fact he thought he made with peace with, long ago.

“So you know what you must do.”

Yeah. Gladio needs to leave Ignis—critically injured and in horrifying pain—on the ground in the middle of the night to be used as daemon bait. He needs to protect Noct, above anything else, even if it means abandoning his boyfriend to die, alone and scared, despite every part of his mind yelling at him to protect Ignis.

He wants to. Gods, he wants to stay and protect Ignis, even if it means he’ll die trying, but Gladio’s life has never been about what _ he _wanted, has it? It’s always about what he needs to do.

“There was so much I wanted to do with you,” Gladio says, his voice barely above a whisper. “I wanted to take you on a tour around Lestallum and go on a date with you to Altissia’s finest restaurants. I wanted to rebuild Insomnia and get a house together with you and— and I wanted to marry you, damn it.” He’s cut off by a sob that tears itself out of his throat. “I wanted to spend the rest of my life together with you.”

Ignis brings his hands to cup Gladio’s chin, leaning his forehead against his. “And I, as well," he murmurs against Gladio's lips. "Though the time that we have already spent together was more than enough for me. For what it’s worth, I would have gladly said yes if you asked for my hand in marriage.”

When they kiss, it tastes like salt and blood. It’s forceful and messy and so unlike the gentle, delicate kisses they’ve shared, but it’s filled with a fiery passion that could only come from Ignis. Gladio’s hands are running along Ignis’ chest, his arms, around the back of his neck, wherever he can reach, desperate to memorize every curve. When they finally break apart, Gladio can’t tear his eyes away from Ignis’ own and Ignis is gripping his shirt with quivering fingers.

“Ignis—”

“Don’t apologize.” Ignis simply says, pressing a finger to Gladio’s lips. “There is no need for that.” He moves his fingers to trace the edge of Gladio’s scar, gently trailing them down his cheek before Gladio catches his hand, bringing it back to his lips.

Gladio kisses the back of Ignis’ hand, then gently runs his thumbs over his cheek, wiping away the trails left by his tears. “I love you, Iggy,” Gladio says. He’s said it so many times to Ignis before—a whisper under the sheets, a sigh on tiring days, a declaration in front of his father and the king—and now, it’s a promise. “I love you so much.”

“And I’ll always love you,” Ignis says. He kisses Gladio again, a quick peck that leaves Gladio wanting—no, _ needing _more. “Now go, Gladio.”

His voice is shaking.

When Gladio runs, Noct held safely in his arms, he doesn’t look back.

**Author's Note:**

> (originally, there was going to be a lot more comfort. like, a lot. then my finger slipped).
> 
> This fic was supposed to be a little longer, but ultimately, I chose to end it here. I did write a little more, though, and if you want to read an extended part of the fic, you can read it over [ here.](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eueJVFTAdoeuP3hOehTH71EAfGJAPVPTavPKJ6yo8is/edit?usp=sharing) Please note that it _is_ unfinished. Thank you for reading <3


End file.
